Saturday, September 10, 2011

Girolles à la Forestière

Simona fromBricioleis hosting the 300th edition of Weekend Herb Blogging and this week as I'm currently in Paris, I'll be celebrating the occasion with Girolles.

Girolles are also known as Chanterelles - they have a funnel-like shape, with a frilled lip and are generally a lovely golden colour.

To enjoy these in Australia, we usually have to rely on French imports which tend to be frighteningly expensive so when I saw these in the market this morning at a price I'd usually pay for button mushrooms, I quickly indulged.

It seems very appropriate while I'm in Paris to honour the stay with a French dish so I've made my own version of Jane Grigson's Girolles à la Forestière.

Clean the Girolles
You can find two trains of thoughts here - one is that you should only lightly brush them clean and the other is that you wash them under running water to remove all the grit with the proviso that you only do this just before cooking.

I've always been on the brush/wipe only camp but a while back I noted Michel Roux saying that for wild mushrooms, they need to be washed and that brushing is only relevant for commercially grown mushrooms.

In this case I've heeded the word of a very experienced Chef and washed these and then placed them on paper towels to remove any excess water. Clean off the woody ends and then slice the larger mushrooms lengthwise so that the mushrooms are on an even size.

Cook the Girolles
Put a large knob of butter in a pan and place on a medium-high heat - I had an extra element of difficultly today as I'm cooking this on a induction top, something I've not done before. When the butter has melted and is starting to colour, tip in the girolles and cook for about 5 minutes - as they cook they will release some liquid and do shrink in size. Scoop out the mushrooms and all the liquid and place in a bowl - set to one side and return the pan to the heat.

Add in another knob of butter, turn the heat to medium low and once the butter has melted, add in the sliced garlic and saucisson. Cook gently to allow the garlic to soften and just start to get a first flush of colour - this should take a couple of minutes. Return the girolles but not their liquid to the pan along with slices of boiled potato (cut the potato so it's about the same size of the girolles) - give the mixture a good stir and then let it gently saute for another ten minutes or until the mushrooms have softened to your liking.

Finish off with a good sprinkling of fresh parsley and serve with a slices of fresh baguette.

We had family coming into Paris from parts of France to join us for lunch and this was an ideal dish to share and when you have good company and a view like this, it is just about perfect.